Here’s the Best Way to Memorize a Speech

Ever tried to memorize a script?

No matter how hard you try, you always forget something or you flub your lines.

Cue cards don’t seem to help much either. They get out of order. You worry you’re spending too much time looking at your cards instead of the audience. Looking down and trying to find your place makes you nervous.

The best way to memorize a speech is simpler than you might think.

It doesn’t involve endless hours of practice.

It doesn’t involve writing out talking points on the back of your hand or on cue cards.

And it does help you to speak to your audience confidently, naturally, with a steady voice.

The trick to remembering your speech

The rule of threes applies to memorizing your speech.

Firstly, there are three steps:

1. Understand your topic deeply
2. Understand what outcome is required
3. Create an outline

Topic -> Outcome -> Outline = TOO

 

1. Understand your topic deeply

The first key to remembering your speech is to understand your topic well.

Think about it like this: if you know your topic well you’ll be able to easily talk about the speech matter, even if you forget your place.

As long as you can talk about your topic, even if you forget your place the audience won’t notice. This knowledge should instantly make your speech more natural and boost your confidence.

2. Understand what outcome is required

Knowing your topic well can be a blessing and a curse.

It’s a blessing because it helps us to deliver a more natural and confident speech.

It’s a curse because we often assume the audience has more knowledge than they do. We know our topic so well that we assume too much background knowledge on the audience’s part and we don’t share enough detail with them.

Deciding what outcome is required from your speech helps you to deliver the right amount of information to your audience to lead them to that outcome.

3. Create an outline

Now that you understand your topic well and know what outcome you need it’s time to create an outline.

Remember the rule of threes?

We use the rule of threes when we create our outline as well.

Sit down with a piece of paper and create a mind map.

In the center of the paper write the outcome you require.

Around the outcome map out three main points (or less) you need to talk about to reach that outcome.

For example:

 

Outcome required: Get sales people to adopt newly introduced selling practices

Point 1: Our company’s terrible sales performance last year

Point 2: The new practices that have been developed to close sales more quickly

Point 3: Sales increase forecasts for the coming year

You mind map now becomes an easy to remember blueprint for what you need to say in your presentation.

Summary

Follow the rule of threes for the best way to memorize your speech:

1. Understand your topic deeply
2. Understand what outcome is required
3. Create an outline

Topic -> Outcome -> Outline (3 main outline points) = TOO3

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